Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
End effectors are devices at the end of robotic manipulators (e.g., robotic arms) that are designed to interact with the environment. End effectors may include a gripper, such as a claw complex or a tool. Grippers may have a variety of gripping surfaces, such as jaws, claws, or mechanical fingers. The shape of the gripping surface can be chosen according to the shape of the objects that are to be manipulated by the gripper.
Some grippers may function using one or more suction cups, perhaps affixed to one or more gripping surfaces. A vacuum pump may apply suction to the suction cups. Then, when the suction cups come into contact with an object, the suction cups may grip the object by way of suction. A robotic manipulator connected to the suction cup gripper may then manipulate the gripped object.